How major US stock market indexes fared on Thursday

Domezio Lambertini |22 Aprile 2017, 01:14

How major US stock market indexes fared on Thursday

"First-quarter earnings season for the S&P 500, while admittedly still unfolding, appears to be positioning well for upside surprises that could deliver earnings growth of around 9%, in line with consensus expectations and perhaps even better than that", said John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer.

Apple (AAPL.O) rose 1.5 percent after Morgan Stanley and Stifel raised their price targets on the stock, helping lift both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. "Friday should be a risk-off trading day ahead of the election", Hogan said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 174.22 points (0.85 per cent) to 20,578.71, while the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 17.67 points (0.76 per cent) to 2,355.84.

France: Uncertainty surrounds France's presidential election set for Sunday as there are several front-runners, including Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front and Centrist Emmanuel Macron.